Lanvin gets dolled up for charity

Lanvin has created a line of four dolls to benefit a sub-Saharan HIV/AIDS charity.

Alber Elbazs fanciful drawings leap off the page with a new line of limited edition fabric dolls from Lanvin. The four designs are garbed in miniature versions of outfits from the French fashion houses forthcoming childrens line, Lanvin Petite.

The dolls are hand-crafted and embroidered by HIV-positive women in Swaziland. One in four adults in the small southern African kingdom lives with the virus, yet its often the cause of community exclusion for affected individuals.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the dolls will fund the work of Dessine Lespoir (Designing Hope), a French NGO that helps women affected by HIV and AIDS in southern Africa support themselves and their families. At 250 each, the dolls cost more than 10% of the average annual income in Swaziland as reported by World Vision.

Dolls will be available from November in Lanvin boutiques and stockists.

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